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Kentucky will hold its Republican primary on Tuesday, where 42 delegates will be up for grabs.

Mitt Romney will by all likelihood win the GOP contest.

So far, Romney has not won enough delegates to claim the Republican candidacy, but he is close to winning the needed 1,144 delegates. Kentucky could bring him one step closer.

But Ron Paul — the father of libertarian Kentucky Senator Rand Paul — may be a dark horse in this race. Ron Paul has announced that he has quit actively spending and campaigning, though, he has not formally dropped out of the race. Using his “It’s the Delegates, Dummy” campaign system, Ron Paul has still managed influence a number of local, state, and national elections while racking up more delegates himself.

As few as 10% of Kentuckians are expected to turn out at the polls — in part because Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama have essentially locked up their presidential nominations.

A lot of people I've talked to would vote for Ron Paul if he got the nomination. I don't think anyone is excited about Romney. Whoopty doo, we got another rich guy trying to be president again.

They realize that Romney is part of the status quo and that more spending doesn't relieve debt. It just creates more debt and inflation. A lot of people think that Romney has won the nomination because frankly, that's what the talking heads on TV tells them. They have no idea what's really going on and neither does the news media, I think. It's pretty plain to see that Romney was already picked as the Republican nominee a long time ago and that the election is more of a dog and pony show. Any real change will not happen under a Romney presidency. It will be more of the same.

Ron Paul has offered a real cut in spending and a balanced budget that no one is looking at. They're trying to ignore him and the more the news media ignores him, the stronger the movement gets.

About 25-30% of my income goes out in taxes each month. That's income taxes, sales taxes and all those taxes on those monthly bills I get. I don't even come close to making $100,000 a year. I'm way way under that. That is a BIG factor on how I will vote.

Tuesday 8 a.m. Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. in Kentucky. In the western part of the state, the decision should be called by around 7 p.m.

Monday 5 pm: Ron Paul Did Rand Paul A Favor Not Actively Campaigning in KY: "I think Ron Paul did Rand a huge favor by not embarrassing him," said Republican strategist Mike Karem of Louisville to the Associated Press. "Ron Paul's chances were nil to none, and none done left town. He had no chance in Kentucky. He would have gotten slaughtered."

Ron Paul still will be on Kentucky's ballot, but he effectively ended his presidential campaign a week ago when he announced he'd no longer be spending money on the race. Republicans Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum also will be on the ballot. Neither withdrew in time to have their names removed.

Saturday: Chris Christie Attends Kentucky Republican Primary Dinner With Senate Minor Leader Mitch McConnell: Christie served as keynote speaker at the statewide Republican Party Lincoln Day Dinner at Lexington’s Marriott Griffin Gate hotel. U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, who was honored at the dinner, personally invited Christie and Christie joked that one doesn’t turn down McConnell.

Christie, who is often mentioned as a vice presidential candidate, offered a stinging rebuke of Democratic President Barack Obama’s leadership, calling him ill-prepared and peddling divisiveness. Obama has spent his first term “posing and preening and making partisan politics the rule of the day in Washington, D.C.,” Christie said.

Much of Christie’s remarks centered on the theme of leadership and offered anecdotes from his first term as New Jersey’s first Republican governor in 12 years working with a Democratic controlled legislature. And his experience of getting major pension reforms through stood in stark contrast to the stalemate in Kentucky’s capitol between Democratic Gov. Steve Beshaer and Republican Senate President David Williams.

Christie said a leader’s role is to navigate a boulevard between compromise and principles.

Background: Several hotly contested races are still up for grabs, including in the 4th Congressional District, where seven GOP candidates are vying for the chance to replace outgoing Republican U.S. Rep. Geoff Davis, from northern Kentucky.

And legislative primaries also abound — 38 of them, including 17 for open seats caused by retirements.

Kentucky has a total of six seats on the ballot. A total of 24 candidates have filed to run, made up of eight Democratic challengers, 11 Republican challengers, and five incumbents.